We’re Joining The Fourth Round of Negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty

We’ve got some exciting news: the Surfrider Canada team is heading to Ottawa for the fourth round of negotiations (INC-4) for a Global Plastics Treaty! Before diving into our asks for a legally binding global treaty, we’ll get you up to date on why we need a Global Plastics Treaty and the history of the negotiations. From here, we’ll discuss our asks, where we’re at with this process and what’s at stake as the nations of the world look to complete the treaty by the end of 2024.

So, it’s no surprise that we’re living in the Plasticene, an era defined by the presence, pollution and overall ubiquity of plastic materials. To address this human rights, human health, environment and climate issue, world leaders from UN Member States met in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2022 and endorsed a historic resolution at the UN Environmental Assembly (UNEA-5) to End Plastic Pollution and forge an international legally binding agreement by 2024. The resolution addresses the full lifecycle of plastic, including its production, design and disposal.

Through the resolution, an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) was established, which started working in 2022 with the goal of drafting a legally binding agreement by the end of 2024. According to UNEP, “It is expected to present a legally binding instrument, which would reflect diverse alternatives to address the full lifecycle of plastics, the design of reusable and recyclable products and materials, and the need for enhanced international collaboration to facilitate access to technology, capacity building and scientific and technical cooperation.” The INC first met in Punta del Este in Uruguay in November/December 2022, INC-2 then took place in Paris, France in May/June 2023, INC-3 in Nairobi, Kenya in November, 2023, INC-4 is coming up in Ottawa, Canada from April 23-29, and the final round of negotiations, INC-5, will take place in Busan, Republic of Korea, from November to December of this year.

So, how successful have the negotiations been to date? Well, it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing. While some nation states are looking to implement targets on lowering plastic production, other nation states want to continue business as usual and have the treaty turn into a waste management agreement. According to Reuters “the European Union and dozens of countries, including Japan, Canada and Kenya have called for -a strong treaty with ‘binding provisions’ for reducing the production and use of virgin plastic polymers derived from petrochemicals and for eliminating or restricting problematic plastics, such as PVC and others containing toxic ingredients.” Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia inaugurated a coalition with countries including Russia, Iran, Cuba, China, and Bahrain called Global Coalition for Plastics Sustainability that will push for the treaty to focus on waste rather than production controls.

From INC-2 in France, a “Zero Draft” was produced, and this draft provides an initial summary of ideas and intentions to come out of the second international negotiations. Jen Savage, the Plastic Pollution Manager with Surfrider Foundation, summarizes the Zero Draft, which includes several positive recommendations like setting global goals for reducing plastic pollution, but also contained gaps, like the risk of the treaty treating plastic pollution as a recycling and waste management issue.

Delegates went on to use this Zero Draft as the base for conversation in INC-3 in Kenya, November 2023, which continued to be impacted and influenced by plastic producing countries and the fossil fuel industry. According to Break Free From Plastic, “With the petrochemical influence in the treaty negotiations, including the ‘low ambition’ of a group of ‘like-minded’ plastic-producing countries, and the lack of ambition by the so-called ‘high ambition’ countries, the INC-3 concluded without concrete headway towards the mandate adopted at the fifth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) to negotiate a comprehensive and legally binding treaty that will cover measures along the entire life cycle of plastic.” Even after a full week of negotiations, INC-3 fell short of setting the stage for achieving ambitious priorities, like the development of targets, baselines, and schedules for an overall reduction in plastic production.

Withstanding this missed opportunity, some countries, including those from the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and the Africa group, “strongly supported provisions on addressing plastic production, chemicals of concern, protecting human and environmental health, as well as human rights, recognizing the importance of Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge, and defining the path for a just transition. However, the influence of a group of fossil fuel and plastic-producing countries overpowered these perspectives.”

Now that we’re all caught up, where does this leave us now - just a few weeks from INC-4 in Canada? For one, we’re calling on the Government of Canada to be proactive in addressing the fossil fuel industry presence at the negotiations, which is a direct conflict of interest. Canada also needs to take leadership in addressing countries that are blocking any kind of meaningful progress in the negotiation process. As part of the negotiations, countries are also debating on whether the treaty should address chemicals in plastic production, as there are over 16,000 chemicals in plastic products and packaging, less than 6% of these plastic chemicals are regulated, and there are 3600+ “chemicals of concern” that are unregulated. So, we also need the Government of Canada to centre this round of negotiations on human rights and health, which means cutting production and regulating all chemicals in plastics.

During this historic negotiation, we need Canada to step up and play a strong role in developing a legally binding global treaty that:

• Sets an ambitious global target for plastic production reduction, which is absolutely necessary to end plastic pollution by 2040;

• Centres justice by ensuring that human rights and Indigenous Rights are upheld and the voices of all frontline, waste picker and other impacted communities are prioritized; 

• Focuses on reduction, reuse and refill solutions instead of recycling;

• Avoids the false solutions of “advanced” or “chemical” recycling; 

• Makes plastics producers responsible for the environmental and social costs at every stage of the plastic lifecycle; 

• Ensures that frontline communities, waste-pickers and others disproportionately affected by plastics are engaged in the transition process;

• Bans single-use plastics;

• Eliminates fossil fuel subsidies;

• Prohibits toxic chemical additives in the production process;

Overall, the Global Plastics Treaty has the chance to change the course of history on Earth (no big deal). We need a globally binding mechanism that will address the life cycle of the plastics crisis, and does not allow petrostates and fossil fuel corporations dictate our shared future. Currently, the amount of plastic waste produced globally is on track to almost triple by 2060 (OECD). A future of escalating plastic production means locking humanity and the entire planet into a reality of pollution, injustice, human rights abuses, and the climate crisis.

Don’t let this be the case. You can support a Global Plastics Treaty by signing Greenpeace’s petition, and becoming a Surfrider Canada member to support our work at the Global Plastics Treaty and our ongoing efforts to address common plastic pollutants that are being omitted in Canadian law and policy.

STAY TUNED FOR MORE ACTIONS AND ACTIVATIONS TO COME OVER THE NEXT MONTH!